Dizzy, she scratched at each of the tents with a call of alert that it was time to rise. When she heard the groaning and yawning, she sat down again to rekindle the fire. They had to have a warm drink and quick light meal before starting on the last leg of the salt trade trail. According to Dr. Gould and the pilot, the mountain that harbored the shrine was no more than four hours' walk from them.
It was just before 9am when they were ready to ascend another few hundred meters on the narrow steep trail to what the medieval manual called the "Godwomb," the cavern under the shrine. Looking back at the campsite where she almost met her end, Nina could not help but relive those last moments before Björn tried to pull the trigger. Behind her Calisto stumbled, frowning, keeping a close eye on her footing. Nina was now reluctant to speak to her, because of the altercation they had, but she felt compelled to investigate the nature of the bodyguard's behavior.
"Calisto?"
"Yes, Dr. Gould."
"What is the matter?"
"Headache. Migraine, actually."
"Do you want a painkiller?"
"No, thank you. I find that medication at this altitude is counterproductive, but thanks for the offer," Calisto replied in puffs of hard-earned breaths.
She was visibly more tired than she was two days ago and Nina wondered if the action of the past day had made more of an impact on her than she had let on. She joined Sam, who trailed Gary and Purdue.
"Everything okay?" he asked.
"Yes, I think," Nina answered, looking at the heels of the men ahead of them.
"Want my stick?"
"What?"
"Would you like to use my walking stick to get by? The road is apparently going to get even tougher a few meters up. Look," he said, and pointed to where a small brown streak of soil meandered through the winding gain in height that occasionally disappeared in the cover of low growing trees and meager brush.
"That looks like a bitch to traverse," she assessed, and he nodded, passing her his cane.
"What will you use then?" she asked. Sam suddenly brought forth another cane.
"Jodh won't need it anymore," he shrugged.
According to Nina's calculations and the proper translation of the old German text adjacent to the hand-drawn map, the mountain called "Mañjuśrī's Seat" played host to the shrine they were looking for. After what Purdue survived with Calisto at his side he had no doubt that she was worth every penny he paid her. As they approached the mountain his heart raced faster at the prospect of what was inside, waiting.
"Calisto!" Nina's voice echoed in panic against the nearby snowcapped cliffs.
The men turned to find her kneeling a few meters back, huddled over Calisto, who had collapsed. Racing back to assist her, Sam found the bodyguard limp and panting on the ground. Gary lifted her head and checked her out.
"Altitude sickness, I think."
"She complained of a terrible migraine and she was off-balance the whole time," Nina reported, as she pulled Calisto's hair out of her face.
"That's it," Gary said, "The thinning air at this height is affecting her oxygen intake. I have something in my backpack that should help, but we cannot haul her up too quickly. It'll exacerbate everything."
"All right, all right, just give it to her. I don't mean to sound like a right prick, but we don't have time for this right now," Purdue said.
Gary gave her some Diamox and a healthy helping of water. It was strange for Sam to see the strong woman sit with her legs crossed, slumping from side to side between Nina's arms and Gary's shoulders. Her eyes rolled backward until the medicine kicked in and the water took effect. Within twenty minutes she had managed to recover enough to get to her feet with minimal help.
"Mr. Purdue, we are virtually out of water. Just thought I'd let you know we have to stop at any stream we come across just to replenish," Sam said.
"Yes, yes, we will," Purdue said abruptly.
"The map did show a river that emerges from the cliff just a few hundred meters up toward the Seat. We can fill our canteens there," Nina said, and she decided to walk next to Calisto for the remainder of the way to mind her condition as they ascended yet higher.
Chapter 20
"There, Mr. Purdue! Look at the glint in the sun. It's water!" Nina cried. The river flowed like a silver thread out of the rock face and they were all relieved to be able to take some rest and get a drink of fresh cold water. Above, the sun was constantly perturbed by the gathering ice clouds, shedding shade over the landscape of the perilous trail. The party all felt the battery of the slant they had to brave, their throats burning and dry from hours of continual hiking and the ribbon of clear mountain water was irresistible. Filling their canteens, they took the opportunity to sponge off the excess sweat and smell from their skins. Here and there they sat along the bank of the stream, each using the solace of the river to correct their ailments and thirst, their bodies rejuvenated after a very trying few days.
From the covered river, through the dense covering of trees, they looked up and saw, for the first time, the mountain shaped like a throne. It towered well into the floating clouds a few hundred meters up, covered in virgin ice and foreboding ledges. Nina's heart skipped a beat at the sight of the majestic mountain and for the first time in days, she smiled.
Sam and Purdue surveyed the best route to take up past the more frequently used paths traveled by farmers, traders and their yaks, struggling to get the animals over the long distances it took to reach their trading posts or villages.
Calisto vomited into a hole between two tree trunks and her ashen face showed no sign of recovering. Her lips were a slight hue of purple and her eyes darker than ever. It gave her a scary expression when she looked at Nina. She chugged more Diamox and sighed as she gathered her newly filled bottles and checked the batteries in her flashlight. Nina noticed Björn's Makarov firmly wedged in Calisto's belt and she suddenly remembered what she was. The vision of her face distorted in blind fury as she sank that bone into the Norwegian's skull, revisited Nina's recollection and it frightened her, but she could not falter now. The woman did save her life.
"Look up there, everyone," Nina said. The other members of the expedition smiled and nodded.
"Well, then, we should not keep her waiting," Purdue grinned.
They trekked up the murderous steep road with its loose gravel defying their footing and even the walking sticks did little to aid them. Nina and Purdue walked ahead this time, looking down at the wider road of the better-known and more-traveled route. The temperature had dropped considerably and the sun had withered completely, even though it was still early in the afternoon. Gary and Sam elected to walk behind Calisto for two reasons. They wanted to be chivalrous in support of her growing weakness and to help if her legs buckled again. The other reason was less amicable. Now they knew what she was capable of, and, with or without reason, they preferred not to tempt fate either way.
The leviathan mountain range broke slightly to accommodate the peak called Mañjuśrī's Seat. It was a name well-founded, as anyone who neared it would attest to. They all felt it — the presence of a higher force, something unfathomable by the average and less-enlightened mind. It was an unmistakable manifestation of something intelligent and ancient beyond time's mere tally. One by one the group silenced from their observations and complaints, the odd chatter about nothing that kept them company as they suffered the incline. To them the sensation became real, the gradual ascent to the eye level of the gods and the innate yearning to pursue the wisdom that came with it. The members of the expedition found themselves contemplating their existence, their placement in the time and space they were made to be in. It was all so profound that they hardly thought of their mission as they neared the turn of the mountain.